Beaked coralfish
Chelmon rostratus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A silver disc with three orange bars, a broad orange band at the back split by a white crescent, and a false black eyespot on the rear of the dorsal fin so a predator strikes the wrong end. Its long beak is for picking worms out of holes, and it works slowly over coral and jetty pylons alike.
how to recognise it
- a long beak-like snout
- two narrow orange bars on the head and front body, and a third down the middle of the body
- a broad yellowish-orange band on the rear of the body, divided by a crescent-shaped white bar
- a false eyespot, ringed white, on the rear of the dorsal fin
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-16. Our wording, their facts. Max size 20 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~15 cm, to 20 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (20 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 78 at 4 spot(s), none of
them in this region
Recorded at Tongue Bay (Whitsunday — North), Bokarina Beach Cove (SC), Moreton Island — NW Bay (Bulwer), Tangalooma Wrecks (Moreton Is.). A count of occurrence records, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
no QLD rule listed — check before you dive
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.